]]>https://canadify.com/2018/03/18/cirque-du-soleil-aerialist-yann-arnaud-dies-after-fall-in-florida/feed/0‘Queer Eye’ and the myth of the self-made manhttps://canadify.com/2018/03/09/queer-eye-myth-self-made-man/
https://canadify.com/2018/03/09/queer-eye-myth-self-made-man/#respondFri, 09 Mar 2018 13:16:18 +0000https://canadify.com/?p=6795Netflix’s revamp of the classic makeover show Queer Eye, originally called Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, has received rave reviews. In this eight-episode season, the “Fab Five” — gay men who are experts in [Read More...]

Netflix’s revamp of the classic makeover show Queer Eye, originally called Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, has received rave reviews. In this eight-episode season, the “Fab Five” — gay men who are experts in grooming, fashion, culture, design and cooking — pile into a new pick-up truck to scour the Atlanta area for lonely and messy men.

The show adapts to current social realities. Bravo’s classic Queer Eye for The Straight Guy aired in 2003 and was considered daring simply by displaying gay and heterosexual men interacting on television.

This Fab Five address a wider range of issues including racism and religious differences. Recent reviewers say the show does a good job of teaching heterosexual men how to display emotions and develop self-acceptance. By so doing, Queer Eye becomes “an antidote” to contemporary forms of toxic masculinity that narrow men’s self-expression to aggression and anger.

These are lofty goals for a reality TV show that also offers tips for do-it-yourself exfoliating body scrubs. Indeed, the show’s focus on consumerism and outward appearance threatens its high ideals.

Viewers are directed towards a singular concept of who the show’s made-over men, called “heroes,” are supposed to be: flawless, self-made entrepreneurial men. This is a problem, not only because perfection is unattainable, but also because it erases the diversity of backgrounds and life experiences that the show purports to embrace.

The original Fab Five from the classic Queer Eye for the Straight Guy at the 2003 Emmys.(Shutterstock)

Remaking neoliberal consumers

I was immediately hooked on Queer Eye’s fun episodes and obligatory happy endings, but I also noticed that it inspired me to scrutinize my life through the Fab Five’s eyes. What would Jonathan say about my hair? How would Bobby jazz up my living room?

Scholars who analyzed the original Queer Eye picked up on this underlying compulsion. Katherine Sender describes how the show made “heterosexual masculinity… compatible with the neoliberal moment.”

Neoliberalism, as Sender describes it, is an economic and political perspective that has accompanied the rise of the digital age. More independent and also precarious working conditions, paired with a free market economy, means individuals must now display themselves as self-reliant and highly employable.

Integral to this display is widespread consumption: To show off your value, you must purchase a range of items to convey social, cultural and economic status. Queer Eye’s fitted suits, fancy avocado salads and sleek household furniture function as status symbols.

Fewer commercial messages and forms of popular media target men’s bodies. Men have also been reluctant consumers of cosmetic and domestic products that are often marketed as feminine.

Old and new seasons of Queer Eye bring heightened scrutiny to men’s bodies and domestic lives. Each episode involves the Fab Five bursting through the door and dissecting the “hero’s” hair, closet, bedroom, refrigerator and emotional state. They link problems in this sphere with broader issues of failed romantic relationships, deficits in confidence and unrealized career aspirations.

While topics of race, religion and sexuality are tackled in the new Queer Eye, class is never addressed. As they drive through the southern U.S., the Fab Five do not mention the region’s recent recession and high unemployment rates.

These issues are not even addressed in the episode featuring a father of six who works two jobs. He explains he would rather provide for his children than spend money on his appearance.

The show’s avoidance of the men’s socioeconomic context aligns with neoliberalism’s focus on the individual. Within a mentality that favours free market competition, people are expected to be self-made entrepreneurs whose hard work naturally leads to economic success.

This perspective focuses on the individual’s ability and hard work and ignores the idea that individuals do not start with an equal playing field. Some people experience greater success due to their privileges, including race, disability, wealth, gender and sexuality. This narrow focus also reduces large-scale problems, such as high unemployment rates, to a focus on individual confidence levels and self-branding.

Queer Eye and gay representation

The new Queer Eye does, however, succeed in celebrating diverse representations of gay men. The original show was guilty of “gaystreaming,” the idea that gay personalities needed to adhere to stereotypes and downplay differences. Classic Queer Eye’s gaystreaming placed heterosexual culture at its centre, and downplayed the Fab Five’s lives, identities and sexuality.

In contrast, the new Queer Eye hosts discuss their backgrounds throughout the season. The Fab Five includes two men of colour: Karamo Brown, a Black American, and Tan France, a British-Pakistani. They also display a spectrum of gender expression ranging from ‘more feminine’ to ‘butch.’ Heterosexuality fades from the show’s focus when they makeover a gay man. In Episode 4, the Fab Five help their guest, AJ, come out to his stepmother. It is in an emotional scene that caused an outpouring of tears from viewers.

Karamo supports AJ who comes out to his stepmother.netflix

The show is able to venture into these wider realms of representation by smoothing messiness, controversy and conflict into unifying practices of consumption. At the end of the day, difference is once more erased as emphasis is placed on striving to be self-made, entrepreneurial men – something the Fab Five embody across broadcast and social media.

The Fab Five’s self-made success is most vividly showcased in their Instagram accounts: Bobby reveals his furniture designs, Tan gives his fashion designer approval to various outfits, Antoni shares his coveted recipes, Jonathan displays his Hollywood hairstyling skills, and Karamo models sexy selfies as a serial reality television star.

Their flawless photos and unabashed promotion of consumer goods assert their status as self-made entrepreneurs. As with Queer Eye, their images and captions are often void of references to struggles, inequalities or privileges.

Queer Eye has made some strides. The producers have shifted the focus from simple interactions among gay and heterosexual men to episodes that tentatively address broader issues of gender, race, religion and politics. However, the show follows the general trend of the past few decades, where gay men have become most visible and accepted in society through their role as consumers.

The Fab Five are excellent consumers who appear to be the ultimate self-made men. But their show fails to address barriers to success in today’s marketplace that make this neoliberal ideal unattainable for many.

]]>https://canadify.com/2018/03/09/queer-eye-myth-self-made-man/feed/0Here’s What’s Streaming On Netflix Canada In March 2018https://canadify.com/2018/02/22/heres-whats-streaming-on-netflix-canada-in-march-2018/
https://canadify.com/2018/02/22/heres-whats-streaming-on-netflix-canada-in-march-2018/#respondThu, 22 Feb 2018 18:20:44 +0000https://canadify.com/?p=6704It’s Women’s Day, every day at Netflix Canada throughout the month of March, as the streaming service celebrates hard working women on both sides of the camera. Ladies to watch include Marvel’s Jessica Jones Season 2, [Read More...]

]]>It’s Women’s Day, every day at Netflix Canada throughout the month of March, as the streaming service celebrates hard working women on both sides of the camera.

Ladies to watch include Marvel’s Jessica Jones Season 2, with every episode directed by a woman. My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman welcomes Nobel Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, while First Match, written and directed by Olivia Newman, follows a teenage girl hardened by years in foster care who decides that wrestling boys is the only way back to her estranged father.

Exciting new titles will be rolling out throughout the month, while a complete list of what’s on the chopping block can be found near the end of this page.

New On Netflix Canada March 1, 2018

2 Fast 2 Furious

Adel Karam: Live from Beirut – Netflix Original

Casino

Fast & Furious

Fast Five

Love Beats Rhymes

RuPaul’s Drag Race – Season 9

Sisters

Sleeping With Other People

Steve Jobs

Stomp the Yard

The Fast and the Furious

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift

The Forest

The Rundown

The Tale of Despereaux

True to the Game

New On Netflix Canada March 2, 2018

Girls Incarcerated – Season 1 – Netflix Original

Voltron: Legendary Defender – Season 5 – Netflix Original

New On Netflix Canada March 3, 2018

The Stanford Prison Experiment

New On Netflix Canada March 4, 2018

Expedition China

The Joel McHale Show with Joel McHale – Season 1 – Weekly Episodes every Sunday – Netflix Original

New On Netflix Canada March 5, 2018

Broadchurch – Season 3

The Brothers Grimm

New On Netflix Canada March 6, 2018

Borderliner: Season 1 – Netflix Original

The Brothers Grimsby

Benji (1974)

Benji: Off the Leash

Black Lighting – Season 1, Weekly Episodes from March 6 – Netflix Original

For the Love of Benji

Gad Elmaleh: American Dream – Netflix Original

New On Netflix Canada March 8, 2018

Marvel’s Jessica Jones – Season 2 – Netflix Original

Ladies First – Netflix Original

Riverdale – Season 2 – Weekly Episodes as of March 8 – Netflix Original

New On Netflix Canada March 9, 2018

Collateral: Limited Series – Netflix Original

Nailed It: Season 1 – Netflix Original

Love: Season 3 – Netflix Original

My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman: Malala Yousafzai – Netflix Original

The Outsiders – Netflix Film

Transformers: The Last Knight

Trolls: The Beat Goes On! – Season 2 – Netflix Original

Wind River

New On Netflix Canada March 12, 2018

Kygo: Live at the Hollywood Bowl

Troy: The Odyssey

What to Expect When You’re Expecting

New On Netflix Canada March 13, 2018

Stretch Armstrong: The Breakout – Netflix Original

St. Vincent

Ricky Gervais: Humanity – Netflix Original

Terrace House: Opening New Doors: Part 1 – Netflix Original

New On Netflix Canada March 15, 2018

Before the Flood

Tabula Rasa: Season 1 – Netflix Original

The Hollywood Masters – Season 2

New On Netflix Canada March 16, 2018

Benji – Netflix Film

Edha: Season 1 – Netflix Original

Hitman’s Bodyguard

On My Block- Season 1 – Netflix Original

Spirit Riding Free – Season 4 – Netflix Original

Take Your Pills – Netflix Original

The Legacy of a Whitetail Deer Hunter – Netflix Film

Wild Wild Country – Season 1 – Netflix Original

New On Netflix Canada March 20, 2018

The Standups – Season 2 – Netflix Original

New On Netflix Canada March 21, 2018

Bob the Builder: Mega Machines

Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments – Season 3 – Netflix Original

New On Netflix Canada March 23, 2018

Alexa & Katie: Season 1 – Netflix Original

Race

Dinotrux Supercharged – Season 2 – Netflix Original

Game Over, Man! – Netflix Film

Layla M. – Netflix Original Film

Roxanne Roxanne – Netflix Film

Requiem: Season 1 – Netflix Original

Santa Clarita Diet – Season 2 – Netflix Original

The Mechanism – Season 1 – Netflix Original

SWORDGAI The Animation: Part 1 – Netflix Original

New On Netflix Canada March 29, 2018

Alias Grace: Limited Series

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

New On Netflix Canada March 30, 2018

A Series of Unfortunate Events – Season 2 – Netflix Original

Eye in the Sky

First Match – Netflix Film

Trailer Park Boys – Season 12 – Netflix Original

The Titan – Netflix Film

Trump: An American Dream – Season 1 – Netflix Original

Rapture – Season 1 – Netflix Original

New On Netflix Canada March 31, 2018

A Walk Among the Tombstones

Bewitched

Catfish

Clerks 2

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Hairspray

RV

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

The Fifth Element

Underworld

Underworld: Evolution

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans

Hanna

Let Me In

Lucky Number Slevin

Pandorum

Spy Kids

Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams

Texas Chainsaw Massacre

The Back-Up Plan

The Crazies

The Man

Winter’s Bone

You Me Her – Season 1-3

Last Call – Here’a a look at the titles that will be rotating off the service in March 2018:

March 1, 2018

12 Years a Slave Heartland – Seasons 1 – 8

March 4, 2018

Prison Break – Seasons 1-4

Angel – Season 1-5

Roswell – Season 1-3

March 6, 2018

The Finest Hours

March 9, 2018

Daddy’s Home

March 16, 2018

The Godfather – Part I – III

March 20, 2018

Zootopia

March 31, 2018

]]>https://canadify.com/2018/02/22/heres-whats-streaming-on-netflix-canada-in-march-2018/feed/0Hedley Withdraws From Junos, Will Continue Cross-Canada Cageless Tourhttps://canadify.com/2018/02/19/hedley-withdraws-from-junos-will-continue-cross-canada-cageless-tour/
https://canadify.com/2018/02/19/hedley-withdraws-from-junos-will-continue-cross-canada-cageless-tour/#respondMon, 19 Feb 2018 18:37:33 +0000https://canadify.com/?p=6664Embattled Canadian rock band Hedley announced Monday that they have withdrawn their award nominations from consideration at this year’s Junos. “We do not wish to be a distraction at Canadian music’s biggest night or to, [Read More...]

]]>Embattled Canadian rock band Hedley announced Monday that they have withdrawn their award nominations from consideration at this year’s Junos.

“We do not wish to be a distraction at Canadian music’s biggest night or to, in any way, take the focus away from the tremendous honour that is the Juno awards,” the band said in a statement released Monday.

“In the coming days, we intend to take responsibility, and talk about how we have let some people down, and what we intend to do about it.”

The band also says it is moving ahead with its cross-Canada Cageless Tour, with a show Monday night in Barrie, Ontario before turning to shows in Ottawa, Laval, and Atlantic Canada.

The tour will see the band taking on eighteen other dates from Quebec City to Kelowna, BC, before wrapping up on March 23, 2018.

The statement adds the band wants to ensure “everyone understands our collective commitment to change, and to do better, is real.”

“Saying a rock’n’roll lifestyle was to blame – or saying certain things happened because we were younger – isn’t good enough. We owe it to our families, our crew, our friends – and most of all, our fans – to do and be better.”

]]>https://canadify.com/2018/02/19/hedley-withdraws-from-junos-will-continue-cross-canada-cageless-tour/feed/0CBC Announces Vassy Kapelos As New Host Of Power & Politicshttps://canadify.com/2018/02/15/cbc-announces-vassy-kapelos-new-host-power-politics/
https://canadify.com/2018/02/15/cbc-announces-vassy-kapelos-new-host-power-politics/#respondThu, 15 Feb 2018 20:16:59 +0000https://canadify.com/?p=6646CBC announced Thursday that broadcast journalist Vassy Kapelos will host the network’s flagship political program Power & Politics, beginning in March 2018. Kapelos joins CBC from Global, where she served as Ottawa bureau chief and [Read More...]

]]>https://canadify.com/2018/02/15/cbc-announces-vassy-kapelos-new-host-power-politics/feed/0Animated ‘Corner Gas’ To Debut On April 2, 2018https://canadify.com/2018/02/05/animated-corner-gas-to-debut-on-april-2-2018/
https://canadify.com/2018/02/05/animated-corner-gas-to-debut-on-april-2-2018/#respondMon, 05 Feb 2018 22:08:32 +0000https://canadify.com/?p=6542The much-anticipated animated version of the Canadian hit comedy series Corner Gas is set to premiere on The Comedy Network in April. Created by and starring comedian Brent Butt, the 13-episode reboot features all the [Read More...]

]]>The much-anticipated animated version of the Canadian hit comedy series Corner Gas is set to premiere on The Comedy Network in April.

Created by and starring comedian Brent Butt, the 13-episode reboot features all the familiar characters of Dog River, Saskatchewan as they experience new adventures in an expanded animated universe.

“I’m excited! Comic books, cartoons, and drawing have always been in my DNA,” said Brent Butt.

In the show’s premiere episode – Bone Dry – Brent messes up a fuel order and Corner Gas runs out of gas while Oscar steals all the food at the station, sending Dog River locals into a panic. Lacey takes advantage of the situation by offering “exotic” recipes at the Ruby, as Hank and Wanda make fuel out of corn but catch the suspicions of Karen and Davis, who think their experiment is a little less corny and a little more Breaking Bad.

You can catch the premiere episode on Monday, April 2, 2018 at 8:00 p.m.ET/PT on The Comedy Network.

]]>https://canadify.com/2018/02/05/animated-corner-gas-to-debut-on-april-2-2018/feed/0Bell Media Launches New SnackableTV Video Apphttps://canadify.com/2018/02/05/bell-media-launches-new-snackabletv-video-app/
https://canadify.com/2018/02/05/bell-media-launches-new-snackabletv-video-app/#respondMon, 05 Feb 2018 13:35:37 +0000https://canadify.com/?p=6536Bell Media announced Monday that its new short-form video content hub, SnackableTV, is now available to download for free on iOS and Android devices. The app features snack-size pieces of content from a variety of [Read More...]

]]>https://canadify.com/2018/02/05/bell-media-launches-new-snackabletv-video-app/feed/0CraveTV Now Streaming On Amazon Fire TV In Canadahttps://canadify.com/2018/01/29/cravetv-streaming-amazon-fire-tv-canada/
https://canadify.com/2018/01/29/cravetv-streaming-amazon-fire-tv-canada/#respondMon, 29 Jan 2018 15:11:21 +0000https://canadify.com/?p=6456Bell Media announced Monday that its subscription TV streaming service, CraveTV is now available on Amazon Fire TV devices in Canada. Crave TV subscribers now have access to the full lineup of television programming directly [Read More...]

“The addition of this new platform reinforces our commitment to delivering CraveTV and its best-in-class programming lineup to Canadians, how they want, when they want, and where they want”.

CraveTV is also available to subscribers on a variety of other platforms, including mobile apps on iOS and Android, Microsoft Windows 8.1, the web, Apple TV, Chromecast, and on select Samsung Smart TVs.

]]>SiriusXM Canada announced Friday that Grammy-award winning rockers Fleetwood Mac will be launching a limited-time channel on the service beginning Thursday, February 1, 2018.

The Fleetwood Mac Channel will feature music from band’s extensive career, including their hits, solo material, live songs, rare demo tracks and musical influences.

The new limited-run channel will also offer inside stories and insights from Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie, plus exclusive special hosted shows by band members.

You can find The Fleetwood Mac Channel on SiriusXM via satellite on channel 4, and through the SiriusXM app and other connected devices, as well as streaming online.

On Friday, Fleetwood Mac will be honored at the 2018 MusiCares Person of the Year tribute in recognition of their significant creative accomplishments and their long-time support of a number of charitable causes, including MusiCares, the premier safety net of critical resources for the music industry.

]]>https://canadify.com/2018/01/26/fleetwood-mac-channel-coming-siriusxm-canada-february-1-2018/feed/0Elton John Announces Farewell Tour, With 5 Canadian Stopshttps://canadify.com/2018/01/24/elton-john-announces-farewell-tour-with-5-canadian-stops/
https://canadify.com/2018/01/24/elton-john-announces-farewell-tour-with-5-canadian-stops/#respondThu, 25 Jan 2018 00:14:11 +0000https://canadify.com/?p=6426Elton John is retiring from the road, but only after he completes a new three-year global tour set to kick off this September. The 70-year-old award-winning singer, pianist and composer announced his Farewell Yellow Brick [Read More...]

]]>Elton John is retiring from the road, but only after he completes a new three-year global tour set to kick off this September.

The 70-year-old award-winning singer, pianist and composer announced his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour during an event in New York on Wednesday.

The Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour will consist of more than 300 shows across five continents, hitting North America, Europe and the Middle East, Asia, South America and Australasia before reaching its conclusion in 2021.